Salivary Gland Neoplasms in Children

Purpose: Salivary gland neoplasms in pediatric population are extremely rare. The aim of the present study was to determine the clinicopathologic characteristics of salivary gland neoplasms in patients younger than 19 years at our institution. Methods: During a 38-year period, a total of 119 pediatric patients met the diagnosis of epithelial salivary gland neoplasms. Clinicopathologic parameters were reviewed. Results: There were 87 (73.1%) benign and 32 (26.9%) malignant neoplasms. The mean age of pediatric patients was 15.1 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.25. One hundred thirteen cases occurred among patients not younger than 10 years. The highest frequency of epithelial salivary gland neoplasms was pleomorphic adenoma (70.6%). Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (16 cases) was the most common malignant tumor in the salivary gland, occupying 50.0% of the malignancies and 13.4% of all salivary gland neoplasms. Conclusions: Salivary gland neoplasms in Chinese pediatric patients are rare. There is a female predominance. Most of the tumors occur among patients not younger than 10 years. The most common benign tumor is pleomorphic adenomas, and the most common malignant tumor is mucoepidermoid carcinomas.